Posted!

Join the Conversation

Comments

Welcome to our new and improved comments, which are for subscribers only.
This is a test to see whether we can improve the experience for you.
You do not need a Facebook profile to participate.

You will need to register before adding a comment.
Typed comments will be lost if you are not logged in.

Please be polite.
It's OK to disagree with someone's ideas, but personal attacks, insults, threats, hate speech, advocating violence and other violations can result in a ban.
If you see comments in violation of our community guidelines, please report them.

New absurdist play debuts at Magnetic

Staff reports
Published 7:05 a.m. ET March 11, 2016

Steven Samuels, artistic director of Magnetic Theatre, stars in "Improbables (An Unlikely Comedy)," a new original play he wrote that runs through April 9.(Photo: Courtesy of Chon Vinson)

A new production explores life's unlikely situations. The Magnetic Theatre launches "The Improbables (An Unlikely Comedy)," a play by artistic director Steven Samuels on March 17.

To characters explore how improbable life is, considering terrestrial and cosmic angles, particularly science and exploration.

The Magnetic Theatre’s 42nd world premiere of a play is set in the wreck of a mansion on a mountain in Asheville and brings together unlikely characters in unlikely circumstances. In the case of two of them — a mysterious young woman named Miranda DeSoto and an even more mysterious older man who calls himself Captain — who they really are and what they’re really doing shifts moment by moment, making mincemeat of the mind of poor Wayne Dubrisky, an accountant who’s hit hard times and thinks he’s just come up the mountain to interview for a job.

Working in a mode more absurdist than farce (with hints of Beckett, Pinter, Ionesco and Genet), Samuels said, "This comedy touches on questions of identity, sexuality, violence, the environment, the economy, and politics, and it’s informed by Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle."

Samuels said he hopes to deliver bravura acting as the Captain.

Montford Park Players veteran actor Art Moore plays Wayne (his second appearance with The Magnetic), and the remarkable Hallee Hirsh portrays Miranda. Making her Magnetic debut, Hirsh has appeared professionally since age 3 in film and television. Credits include You’ve Got Mail, Law & Order, Malcolm in the Middle, Six Feet Under, Will & Grace, JAG, Grey’s Anatomy, and ER.

"The Improbables" opens with low-priced previews on March 17 and 18. Official opening night is March 19, and the play runs Thursday through Saturday through April 9. All performances take place at 7:30 p.m. Previews cost $16 online and $19 at the door. All other performances cost $21 online and $24 at the door. $10 student rush tickets are available 15 minutes before curtain with a valid I.D. Learn more at themagnetictheatre.org.